How much performance loss when underclocking GPU?

[Omie]

So long story short, I’ve had my GTX1080Ti (Asus) for about 4 years now and I believe the factory OC on it has become unstable which I’m assuming is due to natural degradation.

 

Several months ago, the card suddenly started crashing in all games unless I downclock the core clock by -150MHz in MSI  afterburner.

 

Is this the best way to go about handling the crashing issue? I’m also curious if downclocking the core clock by -150MHz will reduce my fps in games by a significant amount.

[BetteBalterZen]

11 minutes ago, Omie said:

So long story short, I’ve had my GTX1080Ti (Asus) for about 4 years now and I believe the factory OC on it has become unstable which I’m assuming is due to natural degradation.

 

Several months ago, the card suddenly started crashing in all games unless I downclock the core clock by -150MHz in MSI  afterburner.

 

Is this the best way to go about handling the crashing issue? I’m also curious if downclocking the core clock by -150MHz will reduce my fps in games by a significant amount.

150MHz really won't do much. Trust me, if you disable the FPS counter, I'm almost certain you won't see and feel a difference. 150MHz might give you a couple of FPS. Don't worry too much about it. 

I'd even recommend doing a proper undervolt, targeting -150MHz from stock clocks - you will get a good undervolt from doing it, probably also lower power consumption by 30/40 watts. 

And btw - sorry to hear your GPU started crashing... F

[Levent]

4 minutes ago, Omie said:

I believe the factory OC on it has become unstable which I’m assuming is due to natural degradation.

Very unlikely with so little overclock and in just 4 years. It is most likely due to components overheating, if you havent before, it is time to replace your thermal paste and thermal pads. That little underclock only would make a difference where your GPU is getting maxed out.

[Stahlmann]

You're looking at a 8-10% lower frequency compared to stock (my 1080Ti boosted to around 1850Mhz when it was running on stock settings, which is why i'm taking this as a reference). So expect roughly 8-10% lower performance.

[BetteBalterZen]

5 minutes ago, Stahlmann said:

You're looking at a 8-10% lower frequency compared to stock (my 1080Ti boosted to around 1850Mhz when it was running on stock settings, which is why i'm taking this as a reference). So expect roughly 8-10% lower performance.

Hmm, when I had my 1080Ti, I don't think I saw nearly a 8-10% in performance reduction from undervolting but I might remember wrong. 

@OmieSorry OP, I said you might lose a couple of FPS... Maybe it's a bit more in some games. 

[Stahlmann]

6 minutes ago, BetteBalterZen said:

Hmm, when I had my 1080Ti, I don't think I saw nearly a 8-10% in performance reduction from undervolting but I might remember wrong. 

@OmieSorry OP, I said you might lose a couple of FPS... Maybe it's a bit more in some games. 

Undervolting doesn't always mean losing frequency. Sometimes you even gain frequency because you have more thermal headroom and the GPU boost will boost further.

 

Or did you undervolt AND apply a negatve frequency offset?

[BetteBalterZen]

1 minute ago, Stahlmann said:

Undervolting doesn't always mean losing frequency. Sometimes you even gain frequency because you have more thermal headroom and the GPU boost will boost further.

 

Or did you undervolt AND apply a negatve frequency offset?

Yes that is true and I know this - but I always monitor my clock frequency when using custom profiles via Afterburner. And I always tune my undervolt to make the frequency stay locked at the frequency I target - or atleast I try to lock it, hehe - sometimes it fluctuates a little bit because of boosting algorithms. 

And no, I always only "undervolt" via the voltage curve in Afterburner. 

[Omie]

7 hours ago, Levent said:

Very unlikely with so little overclock and in just 4 years. It is most likely due to components overheating, if you havent before, it is time to replace your thermal paste and thermal pads. That little underclock only would make a difference where your GPU is getting maxed out.

It’s actually the Asus GTX1080Ti OC edition and I think it has one of the highest boosts compared to other GTX1080Ti’s.

 

Also I never replaced thermal paste/pads on my GPU and it looks a little daunting to me.

 

Do you think it’s worth reseating the GPU back in its PCIe slot? I never reseated it before and it’s been 4 years, is it possible that dust can cause the crashing issues? 

[Levent]

Just now, Omie said:

Do you think it’s worth reseating the GPU back in its PCIe slot? I never reseated it before and it’s been 4 years, is it possible that dust can cause the crashing issues? 

Dust can make thermals worse, blowing the dust off will help with temperatures BUT if you are doing that you REALLY should do pads and paste as well. Reseating the GPU is a hopeless measure, dont take anyone who suggests that for this type of issue serious. Factory overclocks are also never so high that they reduce cards durability even if its the highest clocking card that was for sale.

[Omie]

Just now, Levent said:

Dust can make thermals worse, blowing the dust off will help with temperatures BUT if you are doing that you REALLY should do pads and paste as well. Reseating the GPU is a hopeless measure, dont take anyone who suggests that for this type of issue serious. Factory overclocks are also never so high that they reduce cards durability even if its the highest clocking card that was for sale.

I see. I just feel like I’ll mess up if I try replacing the paste/pads.

 

My card has a base clock of 1570MHz and boost clock of 1683MHz. So if underclocking the core clock by -150MHz, will I lose a lot of performance? Someone in this thread said about 8-10%

[Levent]

2 minutes ago, Omie said:

I see. I just feel like I’ll mess up if I try replacing the paste/pads.

 

My card has a base clock of 1570MHz and boost clock of 1683MHz. So if underclocking the core clock by -150MHz, will I lose a lot of performance? Someone in this thread said about 8-10%

You will only loose performance when your GPU is running at %99 uitilization. 8 to 10% seems about right, every card, every game, every system is different.

[Sarra]

If you underclock your GPU core, and you continue to have a crashing issue, then you probably will want to look at the memory on the card instead.

 

If you have a crashing issue with both the GPU and memory underclocked, then you probably have an issue elsewhere.

 

Do what Jay from JayzTwoCents suggested, and run DDU then install a new driver fresh, and see if this fixes your crashing issue. If it doesn't, then log your temps. If your GPU is running really hot, like 100°c or hotter, then it's time to clean your HSF on the GPU, repaste, and repad the card.

[xg32]

2 hours ago, Omie said:

.

it's closer to 5% for you, i measure more by power draw with clock speeds optimized

 

my 220w undervolt profile (fans are also off) is about 90% the performance of the 340w profile

[Omie]

23 minutes ago, Sarra said:

If you underclock your GPU core, and you continue to have a crashing issue, then you probably will want to look at the memory on the card instead.

 

If you have a crashing issue with both the GPU and memory underclocked, then you probably have an issue elsewhere.

 

Do what Jay from JayzTwoCents suggested, and run DDU then install a new driver fresh, and see if this fixes your crashing issue. If it doesn't, then log your temps. If your GPU is running really hot, like 100°c or hotter, then it's time to clean your HSF on the GPU, repaste, and repad the card.

My crashing issues are completely solved once I underclock the core clock on the GPU. After setting it to -150MHz, I don’t experience any crashes at all.

 

Also my GPU temps are fine so no overheating there. And I’ve tried running DDU to reinstall fresh drivers. Unfortunately the only way I can get the GPU to stop crashing is to underclock the core clock. That’s why I’m thinking it may just be degradation causing the factory OC to become unstable, especially since I’ve had the card for ~4 years now.

[Sarra]

13 minutes ago, Omie said:

My crashing issues are completely solved once I underclock the core clock on the GPU. After setting it to -150MHz, I don’t experience any crashes at all.

 

Also my GPU temps are fine so no overheating there. And I’ve tried running DDU to reinstall fresh drivers. Unfortunately the only way I can get the GPU to stop crashing is to underclock the core clock. That’s why I’m thinking it may just be degradation causing the factory OC to become unstable, especially since I’ve had the card for ~4 years now.

The last two things I can think of suggesting are: 1) Reseat your card. Power off the system, pull the side panel, pull the screws holding the card into the case, pop the connector lock, pull the card out, use a clean pink eraser on the contacts to gently clean them, then reinstall it.

 

If that doesn't help, then if you're comfortable enough, do 2) a BIOS update. No idea who made your card, but they should have updated BIOS available for it.

[Mark Kaine]

11 hours ago, BetteBalterZen said:

Hmm, when I had my 1080Ti, I don't think I saw nearly a 8-10% in performance reduction from undervolting but I might remember wrong

 

11 hours ago, Stahlmann said:

Undervolting doesn't always mean losing frequency.

 

For the record,  my 3070 performs much better when undervolted .

 

Like 1925mhz stock, 2010mhz with undervolt -- which doesn't necessarily  translate to a lot more fps, but certainly not less...

 

***i should also note while it definitely uses less voltage its still using the same amount of wattage (~270w power limit) which i don't fully understand...

[Mark Kaine]

4 hours ago, Omie said:

My card has a base clock of 1570MHz and boost clock of 1683MHz. So if underclocking the core clock by -150MHz, will I lose a lot of performance? Someone in this thread said about 8-10%

150 isn't that much... but you really should look into undervolting instead, not the same thing as underclocking, and it can actually gain performance due to thermals etc, as said above. 

[Omie]

7 hours ago, Mark Kaine said:

150 isn't that much... but you really should look into undervolting instead, not the same thing as underclocking, and it can actually gain performance due to thermals etc, as said above. 

I'm just a little confused with undervolting. If my GPU is already crashing at default clocks, then wouldn't undervolting not change anything and still cause crashing? My GPU temps are fine and the crashing isn't caused by overheating, so I don't think it's an issue with the voltage being too high or anything like that.

[varrys]

9 hours ago, Omie said:

I'm just a little confused with undervolting. If my GPU is already crashing at default clocks, then wouldn't undervolting not change anything and still cause crashing? My GPU temps are fine and the crashing isn't caused by overheating, so I don't think it's an issue with the voltage being too high or anything like that.

It seems like an odd fix you found, but hey, if it's working, you don't have to keep tinkering. Just not sure if you'll experience further issues in the future.